whimperative
n.— «The process is compared to the dressing-up of a request in the form of a question (“Whimperatives”).» —“Ein Diskussionsbeitrag zu mal, eben, auch, doch aus kontrastiver Sicht (Deutsch-Schwedish)” by Birgit Stolt Die Partikeln der deutschen Sprache , 1979. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In English, we may express regret colloquially with the rhyming phrase Shoulda, woulda, coulda! German speakers also use a rhyming phrase to suggest the same idea: Hätte, hätte, Fahrradkette!, which translates literally as “If only, if only, bicycle...
A Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, listener has been pondering the saying It’s an ill wind that blows nobody good, and specifically whether she uses it correctly. The expression usually appears as It’s an ill wind that blows nobody any good, means that...